Future of Violence
by Taseisha
Summary: War is an ever nearing prospect, and the Elric brothers know that. A whole new world, and two new lives. EdOC, AlWin.
1. Introductions

Mondays. They were the worst day of the week, at least, in Edward Elric's opinion.

Get up. Take a shower. Avoid any phone calls, and catch the bus. Get a coffee. Go to work. Go home. Eat. Go to sleep. Rinse, repeat.

He threw an evil glare at the clock, which blared its letters in neon green animosity. It was five in the morning, and he had woken up two whole hours before he was meant to be up and running. He suppressed a light groan, to keep things in the house silent for his still-sleeping brother in the next room. He slung both legs off of the bed and started his day.

As he brushed his teeth, he remembered that he was late for his auto-mail check-up. His regular doctor had retired, he noted as he fingered the auto-mail leg of his, and she had recommended him to her granddaughter and a family friend for a check-up. He never really did want to go, but he should. Apparently, those two had also created his leg and arm, free of charge, as a birthday present when he couldn't afford it. He never met them, but he still had a slight closeness. Well, he'd go after classes.

Class? Yeah, Edward taught chemistry at a nearby University. His little brother was one of his students, even if there was only one-year difference. Ed had graduated early, and passed through university in only one year. He was the youngest legal teacher anywhere.

Slipping on his worn, red coat, he realized his hair was still down from the night before. Slightly sighing under his breath, he pulled an elastic band off of the table beside the door, and quickly pulled his hair into a braid with one hand, the other occupied with brushing the wrinkles off of his outfit.

The morning air still held the chillness of the night before, yet still had a crispness of it's own. Edward loved to just take walks down by the ocean during the early morning before the sun rose, however, he never had time these days, and he had never told anyone, not even his little brother, Alphonse, who he loved dearly. Sometimes, it felt good to have something all to yourself.

Well, since he had time this morning, he guessed he would go down by the ocean.

As he walked, he was leaning against the wind, which was tousling his already slightly unkempt hair. His eyes were squinting, only showing slits of his amber eyes. Slowly, he skidded down the hill to the sandy shores, and began to walk up and down the length of the beach. This was the only spot in the entire city that supported animals, actual animals, not those dumb pigeons and seagulls. Sometimes, if you looked far enough off into the distance, you could see dolphins or whales spouting into the musky sky.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a slight figure approaching. He stood against the side of the hill, staying hardly noticeable. Who would take a walk by the ocean this early… well, other than him. He didn't count.

It was a young woman of about twenty or so, with long black hair that was down in a wave of darkness. Even from this far away, he could see her steely grey eyes that were currently warm with joy. She was dressed in a brown suede coat, with a black Tee underneath, and a pair of jeans, which complimented her legs.

He blinked. Huh?

Just as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone, as if she didn't exist, like she was a ghost or spirit. Not that Ed believed in spirits- he didn't have any religion at all- but it was creepy.

Oh well… he was tired. He may have been seeing things. After glancing at his pocket watch- Yes, he was too stubborn to throw it away, even if it was outdated- He gaped at the time, and started to hurry back up the hill to the road up ahead. He almost missed the bus in this condition.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Classes had gone past fairly quickly today- he didn't have the rowdy bunch of students he normally did. The last day of classes was Friday, and then Ed was free for two whole months. Doing what? God knows. It wasn't like he had a life outside of University anyways.

It was right when he was sorting his papers to go when the last person he wanted to see today came into his room.

"Hello, Fullmetal."

"Mustang."

Roy had nicknamed Ed the first time he saw him as 'Fullmetal', because of his auto-mail. Don't ask why, Ed just thought he was insane. Now, even his teachers and friends called him that, except for his brother. It was like his title now, not 'Mr. Elric.' It was just…

_'Yo, Fullmetal.'_

_'Hey, Fullmetal.'_

"Oi! Fullmetal?"

"Yes, Mustang?" Ed held back a dirty comment. If he got one of those 'If I was Headmaster…' lectures again, he'd end up killing the man in front of him.

"I heard that you were late today."

_'Be calm man… don't punch him…'_

"You know, if I was Headmaster, all who were late would be fired."

_'Think it's Al… no, he'd never say this crap…'_

"Were you too short to get on the bus? I didn't know they had height restrictions!"

B.I.N.G.O.

**"WHO ARE YOU CALLING TOO SMALL TO BE SQUISHED BY YOUR SHOE BECAUSE HE FITS THROUGH THE CRACKS!"**

- - - - - - - - - - -

Dun dun dun… yes, I have created another fanfiction. And this time, I can't just drop it like before. Why? Because I wrote the whole thing out before putting it on the net. Mwa haha. If any of you have read my Inuyasha fanfictions, I'm sorry to say that I'm quitting them for now. Don't expect an update for a looooooong long time. The one who inspired me for the story was WaitingWishing, and her story, Amazing Grace. I hope she's okay with me writing this, and I'd like to say that her story is the basis for mine.

Kityo

Oh!

I don't own FMA, and I don't own Edo-dono. However, I own all the made up characters in this story, and that's all I need to have.


	2. Checkup!

After his 'talk' with Mustang, Ed noted the time. It was only a little after six, so there should be enough time to get to the shop and go home, right? He didn't have to drive his brother home today, because Alphonse was home, sick with a fever. Thus, his schedule was free for the next few hours.

The shop was two blocks from his house, built between two larger shops. As he walked down the road towards it, he stopped at a local pet shop. Right inside the window were a few kittens, prancing around. Each one was black, with amber or green eyes. Man, wouldn't Alphonse love it if he came home with one of these guys, wouldn't he? Alphonse loved cats…

Edward shook his head, and continued down the road. Maybe next day. Didn't he tell himself that every time he passed a pet shop? Who knew?

He almost walked right past the auto-mail shop at first, and then thought better of it. As he pushed open the door, it gave a little jingle, a small bell hidden strategically on the roof. A young teenage girl of nineteen rushed to the front, her hands spotted with oil, her blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail.

"Hey, you must be Elric, right?" She was over excited as she cleaned off one of her oily hands on her pants, and extended it. "Rockbell. Winry Rockbell."

"Edward Elric." He took her hand and smiled warmly.

"Could you wait a second out here? We're just fixing up some auto-mail right now." Winry said, motioning to a chair as a deep-throated scream emitted from the back room.

"Erm… sure?" Ed sat down as Winry turned around.

"I'm coming Kenny!"

- - - - - - - - - -

A few minutes later, she helped a middle-aged man out of the surgery room, who had tears running in rivulets down his face. After getting him to his car and sending him home, Winry led Edward into another back room, and sat him down on a flat, metal bed.

"So, you're the Edward that me and Kenny made the leg for?"

"Kenny?" Edward wore a blank look on his face.

"Oh, she's my friend. Pinako's my grandma."

Pinako was his old auto-mail doctor, so the name was familiar. He just gave a silent nod, and turned his head to the door as another slightly older girl bustled in.

Her own long black hair was pulled up into a ragged bun atop her head, and a few stray strands hung around her eyes and chin. Her hands were gloved with the same white gloves as the older Elric brother, and she too, wore all black, from her sleeveless vest to her cargo pants.

Edward didn't know if it was his pounding head, but she looked an awful lot like the woman from this morning.

"Kenara." She said as she held out one hand to the Elric on the table, who shook it.

"I'm-"

"You're Edward Elric. You've got the best auto-mail arm and leg Winry and I have ever made." She shot him a quick smile. "So, what're you here for?"

"Well, I thought I should get a check-up…"

Kenara threw a blue pair of shorts and a white jogging shirt at him, which he caught.

"Put these on, and call us when you're ready."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Edward was nervous as he sat there, the two girls examining his arm and leg. He never did like auto-mail check-ups, and rarely went, not only because of the pain, but also because he found it very odd to sit on a metal bed in shorts and a Tee, while two pretty girls checked you over.

"Have you had any problems with your leg lately?" Kenny asked, fiddling with something at the bottom of his left foot.

"Well, sometimes it's hard to walk, and I can't find a grip." He said as she lifted it up.

Kenny reached over and grabbed a screwdriver from a nearby table and lifted the bottom platform off of his foot, showing the gears underneath. She slowly pried a piece of jagged metal from the bottom, placed it on the table, and Ed slowly lost all feeling, however dull it was in the first place, in his leg.

Meanwhile, Winry was taking notes on his arm. When she was finished, she began to talk.

"In about a week, you'll need to come in to get your leg extended. I understand that's when you'll be off work, right?"

"Huh? Yeah."

"Well, then, during that time, we'll also get your arm upgraded."

Edward groaned. "And how much is this going to cost me?"

"Nothing, actually."

Ed blinked, and then shook his head. "What?"

"Nothing. You're our guinea pig." Kenara said, as she snapped something in his leg, and feeling started to slowly return.

"That makes me feel so much better."

"What, do you want to pay?" She raised an eyebrow. "It's a lot, and I doubt you could afford it."

The two girls stepped back to look at their work, and smiled.

"Do you need some help getting home, Mr. Elric?" Winry asked.

"No, I don't." However, as Ed slung his legs off of the table, he found that, try as he may, he couldn't stay up. Soon, he crumpled to the ground in a mass of swears and pain.

"We'll give you a ride home. Where do you live?" Kenara asked as she and Winry helped him back onto the table.

"13911, 36 street." He said, defeated.

"Well, then get changed while we start up the car again." Winry said as she pointed to the folded pile of clothes, and left the room, Kenara not far behind.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hello... one reviewer. Oh well, writing it is more fun anyways. Hope you liked the chapter!


	3. Getting Home

Getting Edward to the car was difficult enough, even for two practiced individuals such as the two girls. First, he refused to even leave the house without making sure nobody was watching, and then, he still tried to walk by himself, and ended up toppling into the street.

By the time he was in the backseat of the car, his pants were coated in mud from the knees down, and he still couldn't feel his legs.

"You know, if you had just did what we asked-" Winry started before Ed cut her off.

"Shut up." He said, resting his chin on the car door so his amber eyes just peeked over the top.

By the time they reached the house, Alphonse had his head resting on the windowsill, one hand holding a Kleenex, the other tapping against the window. He looked positively miserable. At least, he did until the two girls came out of the car, holding a seriously embarrassed Edward up by the shoulders.

"Winry!" Al yelled out the window, his eyes bright. Winry looked up, and with her free hand waved to him.

"Hey Al!"

"Al! I thought I told you to keep the windows closed." Ed looked a little worried as he said this.

"I'll be fine. I'm almost all better, so I can go to classes the day after tomorrow." Al smiled, and opened the door for the three to climb into the house.

"Here…" Alphonse directed them to the couch in the living room, where Ed was unceremoniously dumped on his behind.

"Well, we better get going." Kenara said, looking outside. "I better go close up the shop, cause it's going to rain.

"Alright, I'll see you two." Al showed them to the door, and Kenara shook his hand.

"Say bye to the shrimp for me." She said, and smirked as Ed responded.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THEY HAVE TO BE LOOKED THROUGH A MAGNIFYING GLASS TO ACTUALLY BE SEEN?" Edward stood up and… well, that's about it. He fell down before he could do anything to Kenara.

"We'll drop by tomorrow." Winry said, and they left. Alphonse helped his fuming brother back onto the couch.

"Now, brother, calm down-"

"One of these days… I swear." Before he could continue with issuing death warrants for the black haired girl, he remembered something.

"Hey, do you already know those two?"

"Hmm?" Al looked up from his tea. "Yeah. Winry is in a few of my classes at my school, and Kenara is always popping in to say hi to Hawkeye-san and Mustang-san."

"You didn't tell me you knew them."

"I didn't think you needed to know."

Edward sighed. "Let's just try to get some sleep tonight. Is there anything to eat?"

"I went out to the store today, brother." Alphonse fished a sandwich out of the cupboard, and handed it to Edward.

"You shouldn't have gone out. You could have gotten even more sick."

"I'm fine, brother."

The Elric brother lived in a small house just outside of the city, about an hours walk in. They weren't the richest, and barely lived off of what they had. Alphonse had tried to skip out of school, and when that didn't work, refused to go to University, but Edward was somehow able to scrape together the money for both of them to go, and once he got a job, things started to look up for awhile.

Still, things had been tough, but after all the trials, the Elric brothers became even closer. But, with war rising in the North, Alphonse lived with a daily fear that one day, him and his brother would be recruited.

Thus, they both tried to make each day filled to the brim with laughter, even if it had become strained.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tuesdays weren't the greatest of days either. Ed had the day off, and Mustang was going to be teaching his class. Edward visibly shuddered at the thought. Hopefully the schools secretary, Riza Hawkeye, would keep him in line.

Alphonse had taken a trip out to see a friend who lived in the city core, and that left Ed all, sadly, alone.

He had tried everything to keep himself from going nuts. Crossword puzzles lay strewn across the floor, abandoned. The T.V was off, because it only provided Ed with Soap Operas, and they did little to alleviate his boredom. He got up once every half hour to pace around the room, and collapsed soon after that. Then, he had to crawl back to the couch, and begin going at everything again.

That was when someone rapped lightly at the door.

The only problem was, that when Edward tried to get up to open the door, he toppled face first into a lamp, then knocked a glass of water onto himself, and then similarly succeeded in smacking his face into the wall when he tried to get up again.

The door opened, and Kenara peeked in to take a look at her surroundings.

"Um… are you okay?"

"…"

"Do you need help?"

"…"

"Did you break something?"

"…"

"If you broke your auto-mail, Winry is going to kill you."

"…"

"Whoops, your face is mashed into the wall. Sorry about that." Kenara pulled his face away from the wall and dropped a towel on his head so he could dry himself off.

After he was dry, and propped up into a sitting position, she knelt next to him.

"You okay now?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Kenara looked a lot neater today, wearing a clean set of clothes and the same white gloves from yesterday. Her hair was up in a stylish flip, but she still had that, 'I-don't-give-a-shit' attitude.

"What are you doing here?" Ed asked, slinging the towel over his shoulders. Even after all the rigorous drying, he still looked somewhat like a drowned rat.

"I came to check up on you."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N: Hello? Is anyone out there? Oh well. Hope nobody liked this chappie.


	4. Rinse, Repeat

Kenara had grabbed a few cushions for Ed to lean on, and was currently in the kitchen making some spiced tea she had brought.

"I figured your leg was still numb, so I decided to drop by and fix it if I could. I also needed to get your measurements." She said. "Milk or cream?"

"Just sugar. Don't you guys have my last measurements from Pinako?"

"Well, yeah, but we use our own units, and I like doing it myself. Besides, when was the last time you saw Pinako?"

"About three months ago."

"Well, you probably grew since then. You also have a lot to make up for."

Twitch.

"ARE YOU SAYING I'M SHORT!"

"I never said that. Do you honestly think I would make fun of you?" She held her right hand to her mouth in mock horror, and handed him his mug of tea.

He gave her a sidelong glance as he sipped, and then started to cough instantly.

"Jeez, can't even keep your tea down."

After his coughing fit, they sat in silence for a while.

"So, I heard you drop by the school every once in a while."

"Yeah, your point?"

"Just wondering why, if you don't get taught there."

Kenara smiled. "I'm an old friend of Riza's from grade school. Happy?"

"Mhm. Then why do you talk to Mustang?"

"Cause he's a carbon-based life-form that seems to like to hang around Riza's office a lot in his spare time."

"Ah…"

"You do know about Winry and Al, right?"

"What?" He gave her a queer look. "Huh?"

"Oh, nothing, you'll figure out sooner or later." Finishing her glass of tea, she placed it on the linoleum next to her.

"Mind if I try to start up your leg again?"

Ed shook his head. "Be my guest."

After Ed took off his sock and rolled up his pant leg, Kenara pulled out a compact wrench and screwdriver kit.

"You carry your tools around with you?" He asked, eyebrow raised.

"Well, I've also been caught off guard before without it, so I carry it everywhere now."

"When?" He asked, and she shook her head.

"It's a boring story."

"I'm bored out of my skull. You can't be any more boring."

She took a deep breath. "A few years ago, when I first got my auto-mail license, I went to a restaurant with a close friend. Some guy with an auto-mail arm was sitting at another table. Halfway through dinner, it started to collapse on him. It was a cheaper model, and thus carried a crap load of risks with it. All I could do without my tools was sit there and watch as he screamed for the pain to end." She finished with a tired smile.

"That must have been horrible."

"It could have been worse. A doctor came a little while later, but the guy refused to use auto-mail for the rest of his life, and soon had a deathly fear of it."

"Having a fear of a metal limb?"

"I think that if your nerves were being crumpled and crushed into tiny bits, you'd be a little scared too. I think the oddest thing is, that he was a highly regarded general of the military. He had taken bullets for his country and done a whole ton of other stuff, and now, if he sees an auto-mail limb, he freaks out."

Ed didn't ask any more questions after that, and Kenara didn't say anymore, and silence seemed to enclose the room in a thick blanket.

"This may hurt just a little." She put one more nerve into place, and Ed squeezed his eyes shut in pain.

"You could have given me more advance notice you know." He growled.

"Actually, then your nerves may have tensed up, and it would have hurt a whole hell of a lot more." She said. "Wiggle your toes."

Ed did, and then stood up, flexing his muscles.

"It feels so good to stand up again!"

"I bet." Kenara smiled. "Well, I'll probably see you tomorrow."

"What?"

"I've got a few errands to run around the school."

"Oh, well, then see you later." Ed waved as Kenny walked back out the door, stepped into her beat up black truck, and drove off.

- - - - - - - -

((Yes, I know it's shorter, but I swear, I'll update when I get back from the marathon I'm going to run. Luffles, Kityo))


	5. Test Time

Wednesday.

Ed normally didn't have a problem with Wednesdays. There were only three days until he had the chance to sleep in again, and in this case, three days until he was free from teaching for two months.

He had been dragged out of bed by Alphonse the next morning, and had gotten to the school just on time. To look on the bright side, he wouldn't have to hear a lecture from Mustang today, and he could go home without any problems.

The classroom was silent as the students wrote their finals, and Edward barely suppressed the urge to jump up, run around the room, and yell 'Fire'. The silence was just killing him, and he couldn't remember if it was worse when he was the one taking the test, or the one watching the others take the test.

He pulled a piece of paper from inside his desk, and occupied himself with folding it up into as many triangles as possible. When he was finished, he unfolded it, and began again. Gosh, didn't teachers have anything at all to do! They always looked busy while students were taking their tests. There was nothing to do, because he had all his marking done yesterday while he was sacked out on the couch.

Maybe he could make it out the doors of the school without anyone noticing…

He started measuring the distance to the door in his head, then started wondering how long it would take to get there, until he realized that he was slowly tipping over in his chair, and his feet were ready to take off.

He cleared his throat, and returned to staring at the knots of wood in his desk. The clock said that there was half an hour until lunch, and then he'd have to endure another two hours of this. He inwardly groaned. This must have been the most boring day in history for the young man.

Tap, tap.

He looked out the window to see Hawkeye-san tapping at the window lightly to get his attention. He walked over to the door, repressing a skip in his stride, opened it, and slid outside, closing the door behind him.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to let you know that the Headmaster is making his rounds today, so you should make yourself seem a bit more busy than how you are now."

"But there's nothing to do!"

"Isn't there tests you could mark?"

"I marked them yesterday."

"Then why don't you go on the computer and write something?"

Edward smacked his head. Of course, there was a computer on his desk, with an Internet connection and a few card games he could play. Stupid, stupid…

"Thanks for the notice Hawkeye-san."

"Welcome, Fullmetal."

"Not you too."

"Sorry, it's a habit."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

By the time class was over, Edward was immersed in an online card game, and merely waved his students out the door with one hand, collected the papers, and returned to his desk.

"Hey, big brother."

"WAAH!" Edward toppled over in his chair as Alphonse came into the room, and closed the door lightly behind him.

"Sorry."

"Don't scare me like that!" He grumbled as he set his chair back up and glued his eyes to the screen again. "So, what's between you and Winry?"

Alphonse turned bright red, and was speechless for a few long seconds, before finding his voice nearby. "Nothing, why?"

"Because Kenara asked if I knew."

"And when was this?"

"Yesterday."

"And were was this?"

"At our house." Ed gave him a 'what-are-you-getting-to' look.

"Were you two on a date?"

Edward was the next to fall speechless. "Wh-wh-what?"

"Were you two-"

"NO!"

"Then what was she doing at our place?"

"She was checking my auto-mail, that's all!"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Don't give me that look. I'm telling the truth."

"Sure."

"STOP IT!"

"What? I'm agreeing with you!"

"No you're not and I know it!"

"Am too!"

"Al…"

"GAH!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N; Completly inspirationless. I'll probably update by Monday, but if anyone has any other suggestions to the storyline, please let me know! I'm always open to ideas.

Kityo


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